Hex

* O N E *

©  Amber Kalkes 2015

Song---------}

"Strange Brew" By Cream

 *O N E *

“Ruth!”

My hand slips from under my jaw and my head almost collides with the table. Blinking open my eyes I look around quickly only to be greeted with the unimpressed gaze of my boss, Nadine. Pursing her lips she slides a large brown teacup towards me.

Nadine is a striking woman in ever sense of the word. She’s tall with dark ebony skin, sharp almond shaped brown eyes and a muscular body. She’s nearly forty years old but I swear its like the woman doesn’t age. Her hair is in thick braids that fall just above her waist and at the moment she’s dressed in a red halter floor length dress. She looks great but at this point in our relationship I’ve never seen her not look great.

“What is it?” I ask groggily, looking down at the white and brown liquid.

“Hot cacao.”

I scrunch up my nose. “Hot chocolate?”

“No.” She corrects with a shake of her head. “Cacao. It’s raw powder from the cacao leaf. With that pinch of cayenne pepper it’ll really wake your ass up and we both know you need that.”

I give the cup’s contents a dubious look but say to hell with it and bring it up to my lips. The flavor erupts on my tongue and as the warmth of it slides down my throat I feel a little bit better. It’s been one hell of a night for me but then again it usually is. I never thought at twenty-three years old I would still be having nightmares. Though I do take solace in knowing it’s not real, at least I don’t think it is.

I look around at the café I can’t help but think how typical for Nadine this place is. It’s a total alternative scene with sitar music playing overhead and the smell of incense thick in the air. Not to mention the pretentious barista behind the counter whose willing to tell you about his trip to Nepal and how eye opening it was. I chuckle a little at the thought before sighing. I only have to wait patiently for the interrogation to begin.

“So, what was it this time?” She asks, placing down her own green tea filled cup.

I shrug and run my finger over the rim of my cup. “Nothing too crazy just…it felt really real. I was in the woods again but this time someone was chasing after me. I hear voices but I couldn’t make anything out but it was the fear that really got to me.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t a vision of things to come?”

I give her a droll look, “I don’t get those, Nadine. That’s your scene.”

“This is true.” She nods; making her long braids shift around her shoulders. “But with the way you’ve barely been sleeping I wouldn’t be surprised if you slipped into another’s dreams.”

“So you think this could be real? That these eyes I’ve been seeing everything through could be a real person?”

“Or animal.” Nadine says quietly before sipping more from her cup.

I give her a strange look but don’t comment. Nadine has always been that way since I met her five years ago, so cryptic. I never know what she’s talking about half the time and it’s become a habit of mine to just drop it. She never gives you a straight answer anyway.

“Listen, how about I give you a break from the shop. Miles has been asking for more shifts anyway.”

“Miles can’t do what I do.” I tell her flatly.